**Critical Voting Underway in Key Battleground States**

Voting has commenced in the crucial battleground states anticipated to determine whether Vice-President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump will serve as the next US president. Reports from correspondents on the ground show that polling stations are calm and occasionally festive, with many appearing nearly empty due to unprecedented levels of early and mail-in voting. Historically, queues tend to grow as polls near closing hours. Of the seven pivotal swing states, Georgia will close polls first at 19:00 EST, and all states will complete their voting by 22:00 EST, with western states closing later.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's largest city, voting kicked off with a lively atmosphere. A DJ played music for a line of cheerful voters outside a downtown church, where they enjoyed coffee and bagels. However, there were minor issues, such as at City Hall, where a stuck door left polling booths empty an hour after opening and confused a few early voters. In Delaware County, voters faced half-hour waits to cast their ballots, with lines still long well into the afternoon. Pennsylvania, which provides 19 electoral votes and is highly competitive due to its mixed rural and urban demographics, is under national scrutiny.

Buncombe County, North Carolina, saw the installation of a generator-powered tent as a polling location after the original site was damaged by a September storm. Despite the challenging conditions, 35 voters had cast their ballots here shortly after polls opened. Early voting in this Republican-dominated area surpassed the state-wide average. Given that Trump narrowly won North Carolina by less than 2% in 2020, voter turnout in this county could significantly impact the state's 16 electoral votes. Among the voters were Debra and Robert Kendrick, who were rescued by canoe after the storm. Both voted for Trump, citing concerns like immigration.

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, voting started quietly on an unusually warm Election Day morning, with a small number of voters arriving at the polling center, as many had voted early. Harris is banking on high turnout in liberal Washtenaw County to counteract anticipated wins by Trump in rural areas. Courtney Kutcher, voters for Harris, highlighted the importance of women's participation in this election. Michigan, which holds 15 electoral votes and has a diverse electorate including Arab-Americans and unionized autoworkers, shifted back to the Democrats in 2020 after Trump won in 2016.

Lastly, in Atlanta, voters continue to make their way to the polls as the nation waits to see how Georgia's early results, closing at 19:00 EST, will fit into the larger electoral puzzle.